Flour mill

ABSTRACT

The present invention comprises an upstanding box-like housing including a substantially cylindrical abrasive grinding wheel having a multiplicity of spirally disposed tooth-like breaks suitably fastened to one of the sidewalls of the housing, a substantially similar grinding wheel opposingly mounted and journaled for rotation in the sidewall opposite the fixed grinding wheel, and means for driving the rotating grinding wheel. The fixed grinding wheel is provided with an entranceway in one of its walls. a downwardly sloping hopper-like bottom portion is supported by the fixed wheel in the housing and includes an exitway coincident with the entranceway of the fixed wheel. The wheels are selectively spaced apart with respect to each other to grind grain into flour or cereals. Means for adjusting the spacing between the respective wheels is provided in the apparatus here disclosed.

United States Patent Kuest Sept. 5, 1972 OU L Primary Examiner-Granville Y. Custer, Jr. 72 Inventor: Johnnie Kuest, P.O. Box 1254, Twi Kraft Falls, Idaho 83301 [57] ABSTRACT [22] Filed: Jan. 25, 1971 Th t ti rand b 1 e resen mven on com nses an u s in ox- [21] Appl' 109,272 like i i ousing including a sub tantially isf/lindrical abrasive grinding wheel having a multiplicity of spirally [52] U.S. Cl. ..241/239, 241/256, 241/290 disposed tooth-like breaks suitably fastened to one of [51] Int.Cl ..B02c 7/18 the sidewalls of the housing, a substantially similar [58] Field of Search ..241/239, 255, 256, 290 grinding wheel opposingly mounted and journaled for rotation in the sidewall opposite the fixed grinding References Cited wheel, and means for driving the rotating grinding UNITED STATES PATENTS wheel. The f xed grinding wheel is provided with an entranceway in one of its walls. a downwardly sloping 1,485,855 3/1924 Kidney ..241/256 hopper-like bottom portion is supported by the fixed 365,022 6/1887 Pyne ..241/280 X wheel in the housing and includes an exitway coinl,834,347 1931 Nixon X cident with the ent anceway of the fixed wheeL The Hollis wheels are selectively spaced apart respect [0 1,300,503 4/1919 Sovereign ..241/290 each other to grind grain into fl or 1 Means 1,346,277 7/ 1920 Storrer ..241/255 for adjusting the Spacing between the respective 3,323,732 6/1967 et ""241/290 X wheels is provided in the apparatus here disclosed. 3,482,790 12/ I969 Boster ..'.....24l/239 X 3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures 3M]. I 1 l PATENTEMEP m 3.688.996 SHEET 1 [IF 3 JOHNNIE KUEST INVENTOR.

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P'ATENTEBSEP 1812 31588396 SHEEI'J 0F 3 JOHNNIE KUEST INVENTOR.

FLOUR MILL FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention relates to flour grinding mills BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART Flour mills known in the prior art comprise a variety of abrasive grinding wheels and rollers adapted to sequentially grind various grains-selectively into flour and cereals. Generally a pair of cylindrical abrasive rollers or wheels, running in the same direction, usually at different rates of speed, tend to nip and grind the grain. The grinding wheels or rollers are provided with corrugations, flutes,-or tooth-like ridges commonly called breaks extending radially to the terminal edges thereof. Commercial milling is divided into sequential stages in the gradual reduction of the grain to flour or cereal requiring much time and expensive equipment. Suffice it to say that grain is fed into the breaks and centrifugally thrown against the abrasive wheels and rollers until finely ground, at which time the milled grain producing flour or cereal is permitted to pass between the wheels into a reservoir. lnherently the flour or cereal is light in molecular weight and tends to be dispersed into the atmosphere about the milling machine apparatus. Such dispersion of flour or cereals is difficult to control.

Accordingly it is an extremely important object of the present invention to provide a flour mill of simple construction including means operable to control and contain flour and grain within the mill.

A further object of this invention is to provide means for selectively positioning the grinding wheels with respect to each other fro grinding flour or cereal.

These and other objects shall become apparent from the description following, it being understood that modifications may be made without affecting the teachings of the invention here set out.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Generally the present invention comprises an upstanding box-like housing including a substantially cylindrical abrasive grinding wheel having a multiplicity of spirally disposed tooth-like breaks suitably fastened to one of the sidewalls of the housing, a substantially similar grinding wheel opposingly mounted and journaled for rotation in the sidewall opposite the fixed grinding wheel, and means for driving the rotating grinding wheel. The fixed grinding wheel is provided with an entranceway in one of its walls. A downwardly sloping hopper-like bottom portion is supported by the fixed wheel in the housing and includes an exit-way coincident with the entranceway of the fixed wheel. The wheels are selectively spaced apart with respect to each other to grind into flour or cereals. Means for adjusting the spacing between the respective wheels is provided in the apparatus here disclosed.

A more thorough and comprehensive understanding may be had from the detailed description of the preferred embodiment when read in connection with the drawings forming a part of this specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top left perspectiveview of the flour mill of the present invention showing to advantage the upstanding grain hopper portion and the drawer-like reservoir of the invention. v

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional side elevational view taken substantially along the lines 22 of the FIG. 1 showing to advantage the details of assembly of the components and elements of this invention and showing the funnellike bottom portion of the hopper portion and the drawer-like reservoir shown in broken lines exploded away from the apparatus of the invention for illustrative purposes of a further position of the respective elements.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the invention showing the drawer-like reservoir partially removed.

FIG. 4 is a left front perspective view of the rotatably mounted grinding wheel of this invention showing. to advantage the tooth-like projection ledges of the wheel.

FIG. 5 is a right rear perspective view of the fixedly mounted grinding wheel of the invention showing the entranceway in the wheel.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to the FIG. 1 which shows to advantage the flour mill of this invention and is generally identified by the numeral 10. The Hour mill 10 includes a substantially L-shaped housing having an outwardly projecting leg portion 12. The portion 12 provided means for suitable driving assembly such as the motor 13. The upstanding portion of the housing 11 designated bythe numeral 14 in the drawings tends to form a hopper-like portion 15 having a removable funnel-like bottom portion 16 supported in the housing as hereinafter later described.- The hopper-like portion 15 including the funnel-like bottom portion 16 is distally disposed in the upper most portion of the upstanding portion 14 of the housing 1 l. A drawer-like reservoir 17 is carried carried in the lowermost portion of the housing 11 and extends into the outwardly projecting leg portion 12.

Referring now to the cross-sectional side elevational view of FIG. 2, the details of assembly of the components and elements .of the present invention are shown to advantage. The motor 13 of the invention is modified to provide means for adjusting a grinding wheel 18 hereinafter later described. It is known that the freely suspended armature of commonly known repulsion and induction motors tens to have some movement transversely to the housing in the field coil. Therefore, one of the end bells of the motor housing is provided with threads 19. The motor 13 is preferably provided with a double ended or through shaft 20. A sleeve-like bushing 21 is threadably mountedin the threads 19 of the end bell about the shaft 20. The shaft 20 may freely turn in the bushing 21. A disc-like locking sleeve 22 is mounted on the shaft 20 by a set.

screw 23 adjacent the bushing 21. The sleeve 22 is adapted to be carried on the shaft '20 contiguously against the bushing 21. As the bushing 21 is threadably moved inwardly and outwardly, the shaft 20 is caused to be moved inwardly and outwardly with the sleeve 22 in response to movement of the bushing.

The grinding wheel 18 is mounted on the opposite end of the shaft 20 in the upstanding portion 14 of the housing 11. The terminal end of the shaft 20 is threaded to receive a nut 24. A disc-like sleeve 25 including a set screw 26 is carried on the shaft 20. The wheel 18 is mounted on the shaft 20 between the sleeve 26 and the nut 24. Hence, the wheel 18 is rotatably carried in the housing 1 l by the shaft 20.

A fixed grinding wheel 27 is juxtapositioned in the upstanding portion 14 of the housing 11 adjacent the rotating grinding wheel 18. The fixed wheel 27 is mounted to the upstanding wall of the housing 11 opposite the rotating grinding wheel 18 by a nut and bolt assembly 28. It has'been found in practice that the wheels 18 and 27 tend to expand during grinding of grains. Therefore, it has been found to advantage to provide a mounting block 29 having a resilient portion 30 disposed between the fixed grinding wheel 27 and the adjacent wall of the upstanding portion 14 of the housing 11 to provide means for adjusting the distance between the respective wheels 18 and 27 during operation of the flour mill of the present invention. That is to say that when the nut of the bolt mounting assembly 28 is tightened the resilient portion 30 tends to become compressed between the block 29 and the wall of the housing causing the wheel 27 to be moved in a direction away from the rotating wheel 18. Conversely, when the nut of the assembly 28 is loosened the fixed grinding wheel 27 tends to be urged toward the rotating wheel 18'by the resilient portion 30. It is to be understood that the wheels 18 and 27 are normally operated at very close spacing tolerances when grinding grain into flour.

g The funnel-like bottom portion 16 is juxtapositioned in the hopper portion of the housing 11 and is supported bythe fixed grinding wheel 27. Although the wheels 18 and 27 are disclosed in my copending design applications entitled Abrasive Grinding Wheel and -Abrasive Grinding Wheel Including Entranceway, Ser. Nos. 109731 and 109757, respectively, filed Jan. 25, 1971, a brief description here will aid in the understanding of the assembly of the present invention. Referring now to the FIGS. 4 and 5, the wheel 18 is shown, in the FIG. 4, as viewed from the side opposite the sleeve and showing the interior of the wheel 18 while the wheel 27 is shown, in the FIG. 5, as viewed from the side adjacent the block 29. It is to be understood that the interior of the wheels 18 and 27 are identical, as shown in the FIG. 2. The wheels 18 and 27 are substantially cylindrical body portions 34, each having a mounting wall 35 at one of the terminal ends thereof. The interiors of the body portions 34 of the wheels 18 and 27 are provided with a multiplicity of tooth-like projecting ledges 36 each having a curvilinear portion issuing from the bottom most portion of one ledge 36 outwardly toward the outermost portion of a next succeeding ledge 36 to form breaks. The curvilinear portions substantially spiral outwardly toward the terminal edge of the respective wheel opposite the mounting wall 35 thereof. The wheel 27 differs from the wheel 18 only in that the wheel 27 is provided with an entranceway 37in one of the walls of the wheel 27. It may be observed that the fixed wheel 27 is juxtapositioned so that the entranceway of the wheel 27 is coincident with an exitway 31 provided in the funnel-like bottom portion 16.

It has been found to advantage to provide a manually operable crank 32 which may be suitably distally fastened such as by a wing nut 33 to the terminal end of the shaft 20 opposite the rotating grinding wheel 18 since sources of electrical energy is frequently interrupted in remote areas where flour mills of the character here disclosed are used. It is to be understood that compound gearing apparatus may additionally be provided to aid in manual operation of the apparatus of this invention.

In operation grain is placed into the hopper portion 15 and caused to flow by gravity down the sloping sidewalls of the funnel-like portion 16 through the exitway 31 and through the entranceway of the fixed grinding wheel 27. The grain is caused to be centrifugally thrown against the respective tooth portions 36 of the wheels 18 and 27 in response to the rotation of the wheel 18. Suffice it to say that, since the curvilinear portions of the respective wheels spiral opposingly outwardly, the grain is caused to be driven toward the opposing mounting walls of each of the grinding wheels. When the grain is sufficiently ground finely enough by the wheels into flour, the flour may pass between the spaced wheels and into the reservoir-like drawer 17 slidably carried in the housing. It may be noted in the drawings that the exitway 31 and the entranceway 37 of the fixed grinding wheel 27 are distally disposed rearwardly of the outermost terminal edge of the wheel 27. Hence, flour passing between the spaced wheels 18 and 27 can not enter the hopper-like portion 15 by reason of the sloping wall of the funnel-like portion 16 covering the spaced opening.

Having thus described in detail a preferred apparatus which embodies the concepts and principles of the invention and which accomplishes the various objects,

purposes and aims thereof, it is to be appreciated and will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many physical changes could be made in the apparatus without altering the inventive concepts and principles embodied therein. Hence, it is intended that the scope of the invention be limited only to the extent indicated in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a flour grinding mill the combination of an upstanding box-like housing having .an opening in the uppermost top portion thereof, a pair of opposing substantially cylindrical abrasive grinding wheels laterally disposed in said housing and spaced apart in said housing with respect to each other, one of said abrasive grinding wheels being suitably fixed mounted to one of the upstanding sidewalls of said housing, the other said abrasive grinding wheel being journaled for rotation in the sidewall opposite said fixedly mounted abrasive grinding wheel, driving means operable to rotatably drive said abrasive grinding wheel journaled for rotation in said sidewall, an entranceway in one of the walls of said fixedly mounted abrasive grinding wheel, a downwardly sloping, hopper-like bottom portion supported on said fixedly mounted abrasive grinding wheel, said bottom portion including an exitway coincident with said entranceway of said fixedly mounted abrasive grinding wheel, each of said grinding wheels comprising a substantially cylindrical body portion having an upstanding wall, a multiplicity of tooth-like projecting ledges disposed in the innermost portion of said body portion, each of said ledges having a curvilinear portion issuing from the bottom most portion of one ledge outwardly toward the outermost portion of a next succeeding ledge, said ledges being spiraled outwardly toward the terminal edge of said body portion opposite said upstanding wall.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 including a fixed wheel mounting block comprising a resilient, compressible material disposed between said upstanding mounting 

1. In a flour grinding mill the combination of an upstanding box-like housing having an opening in the uppermost top portion thereof, a pair of opposing substantially cylindrical abrasive grinding wheels laterally disposed in said housing and spaced apart in said housing with respect to each other, one of said abrasive grinding wheels being suitably fixed mounted to one of the upstanding sidewalls of said housing, the other said abrasive grinding wheel being journaled for rotation in the sidewall opposite said fixedly mounted abrasive grinding wheel, driving means operable to rotatably drive said abrasive grinding wheel journaled for rotation in said sidewall, an entranceway in one of the walls of said fixedly mounted abrasive grinding wheel, a downwardly sloping, hopper-like bottom portion supported on said fixedly mounted abrasive grinding wheel, said bottom portion including an exitway coincident with said entranceway of said fixedly mounted abrasive grinding wheel, each of said grinding wheels comprising a substantially cylindrical body portion having an upstanding wall, a multiplicity of tooth-like projecting ledges disposed in the innermost portion of said body portion, each of said ledges having a curvilinear portion issuing from the bottom most portion of one ledge outwardly toward the outermost portion of a next succeeding ledge, said ledges being spiraled outwardly toward the terminal edge of said body portion opposite said upstanding wall.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 including a fixed wheel mounting block comprising a resilient, compressible material disposed between said upstanding mounting wall of said fixedly mounted abrasive grinding wheel and said sidewall of said housing, a nut and bolt assembly mounting said fixedly mounted abrasive grinding wheel and said fixed wheel mounting block to said sidewall.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 including adjusting means on said driving means operable to move said driving means and said abrasive grinding wheel journaled for rotation in said housing toward and away from said fixedly mounted abrasive grinding wheel. 